Our Approach to Family Law Matters
Baird & McGregor understand that family life is very important. Dealing with family law matters can often be a difficult or challenging time.
Baird & McGregor can offer advice and assistance with any family law matter, including:
- Parenting
- Property
- Defacto Property Disputes
- Child protection
- Divorce
- Guardianship Applications
- Explain to you what you can reasonably expect after considering your particular circumstances.
- Set out the alternatives; give you advice and the reasons for the advice.
- Allow you to make the choice, even though it might not be our preferred choice, we will respect your choice and advocate your choice by our best endeavours.
- Ensure that all important letters are first forwarded to you for your perusal and approval before forwarding them to the opposing parties or other institutions.
- Allow you to remain in control of your case.
- Not give you advice or involve ourselves in fields outside of our expertise.
- Explain to you the procedures, timelines.
- Report to you regularly as to how your matter is progressing.
- Discuss costs and cost effective methods of resolving matters.
We appreciate that there is emotion in Family Law matters but it is still important that we remain objective in order to advise of a proper outcome and create reasonable expectations.
We will not moralise or be judgemental. We will apply as much common sense as possible to deal with the matter, but will not shirk from our responsibilities under the Family Law Act.
We recognise urgent situations and will exercise urgency if required.
We are always mindful of conciliation and mediation and that those can be positive avenues of resolving disputes. We are particularly mindful of compulsory family dispute resolution when children are involved. We however recognise the exceptions and will in those cases adopt the necessary adversarial stance.
When litigation is required, we will ensure that it is dealt with as expeditiously and as cost effectively as possible.
We generally employ barristers and other specialists to attend on "contested" and particularly difficult matters. We do so simply because of their expertise in a court forum and if adversarial aggression is required, Barristers are more removed from the scene and can do that without upsetting the equilibrium
You should remember that your matters are privileged and the privilege is yours and for that purpose you should have confidence and be able to speak freely with us in respect of your matters. We would certainly hope that once you have met with us that you will have this confidence.
Remember
- Everything you do, write, email and say, including things said in the strictest confidence to family and friends, can get back to your former partner and may become evidence in family law litigation. If you don't want it to become part of the evidence, do not say it and most particularly do not write it.
- You have only one year from the date of your Certificate of Divorce to apply for spousal maintenance or property settlement. If that date is approaching get legal advice to see if there is anything you ought to do.
- Courts make decisions on the evidence before them. The basis of all property settlements is the value of the assets. Neither you, your lawyer, nor a judge is qualified to value those assets. The only evidence a court will accept is a valuation by an appropriately qualified person.